Gut-Hormone Connection
Megan Tantillo, DNP
You may be surprised to learn your hormone health is connected to your gut health. And vice versa.
Image by Victoria Gloria Photography
Have you ever had constipation leading up to your period? 💩 Or felt bloated during ovulation? These are examples of the gut-hormone connection.
When working to balance female hormones, it’s important to recognize how the health of your gut impacts how your hormones are produced and metabolized.
For example, the gut is responsible for digesting and absorbing nutrients from food, which are then used to create hormones. If digestion is compromised, due to an infection or inflammation or different absorption issue, hormone deficiencies can occur.
The gut is also involved with how estrogen is metabolized. Estrogen moves through its last phase of metabolism through your bowels. Yup, you poop estrogen out. Any issues with bowel motility or constipation can lead to an excess or estrogen or estrogen dominance.
An overgrown estrobolome can cause excess estrogen.
There is a certain subset of gut bacteria called the estrobolome.
The estrobolome plays a critical role in estrogen metabolism. Estrogen metabolism refers to the way estrogens are eliminated from the body which involves the conversion of estrogens to inactive estrogen metabolites that are able to be excreted in the urine and poop.
The estrobolome creates an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. This enzyme, beta-glucuronidase, has the ability to allow packaged estrogen ready for elimination back into the bloodstream, adding to the estrogen pool. Increase in this enzyme activity can lead to estrogen excess, or better known as estrogen dominance.
Elevated levels of beta-glucuronidase are associated with…
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Endometriosis
Infertility
Mood disturbances
Heart disease
Obesity
Constipation can lead to symptoms of excess estrogen.
Moving your bowels is the last step in estrogen metabolism, or Phase 3. If you aren’t moving your bowels daily, estrogen is not appropriately cleared from the body.
In other words, if you’re backed up, estrogen can back up, and cause symptoms of estrogen excess.
Symptoms of Estrogen Dominance:
Heavy and/or Painful Periods
PMS
Headaches
Decreased Sex Drive
Bloating
Mood Swings
Fatigue, Anxiety & Depression
Breast Tenderness
Endometriosis
Fibroids
Hormonal Weight Gain
If balancing hormones is your goal, start with the gut. Here are 3 ways to improve your gut health today:
Eliminate refined sugar. Sugar feeds the bad bugs and invites them to take residence in your gut. Eliminating sugar cuts off their energy source and makes an unfavorable environment for pathogenic bugs to live.
Eat more vegetables. Vegetables are full of prebiotic fiber, fuel for the good bugs. Improving gut health involves tending to your inner garden. Weeding the bad bugs and feeding the good.
Take a multi strain pre and probiotic. I recommend the Daily Synbiotic by Seed. This multi-strain probiotic and prebiotic will provide beneficial bacteria to support your gut and beyond. Introducing good bugs is one of the easiests interventions to support your whole health. Use code HHC15 to receive 15% off your first month of subscription.
Schedule a call to start healing your gut today. Work with us to test your microbiome and receive a personalized gut healing care plan.
Megan is a Nurse Practitioner and Health Coach helping women and families get to the bottom of their health concerns and make meaningful changes to their diet and lifestyle to care for their holistic health.
This article was sponsored by Seed Health, Inc